New Zipcar agreement with Providence includes revenue for city

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — After several weeks of concerns, questions and re-negotiations, a proposed contract between Providence and the short-term rental car company, Zipcar, has been revised to include revenue for the city.

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By
Alisha A. Pina
Posted Apr. 8, 2014 @ 12:32 pm

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — After several weeks of concerns, questions and re-negotiations, a proposed contract between Providence and the short-term rental car company, Zipcar, has been revised to include revenue for the city.

The draft agreement also caps the amount of on-street parking spaces Zipcar can have by the third and final year of the deal — 2016 — to 17 spaces. Its first contract with Providence, which expired in January, gave Zipcar exclusive rights to 10 on-street spots.

The City Council’s Ways and Means Committee endorsed the proposed three-year pact Monday. Approval from the full council is now needed.

“The collaboration between the administration, Zipcar and the council helps us promote environmentally friendly modes of transpiration,” said Councilman David Salvatore, the committee’s chairman, in an email Tuesday. ”The committee is satisfied with the contract’s stipulations and believes that Zipcar’s transportation model aligns nicely with the city’s infrastructure while generating a new source of revenue.

He continued, “We look forward to doing business with this innovative company that chose to make Providence its home.”

The renewal agreement that was presented to the council in January by Sheila Dormody, director of sustainability for Mayor Angel Taveras, asked for 13 on-street spots throughout the city. In exchange for the spaces, Zipcar would give discounts to 40 city employees – including waiving a $60 annual membership fee – when they use the rental car company.

One benefit to city residents, Dormody said then, was they may not need to have the expense of a second car — or possibly a first car — with Zipcar’s presence.

Yet the pact did not include payments to the city, and council members asked why. They also raised concerns about losing more on-street parking and whether Zipcar registers its fleet of vehicles in Providence.

Zipcar, which was founded in Massachusetts in 2000, has its local headquarters on Eddy Street. Unlike other rental companies, it allows its members to use its vehicles for as little as an hour. It also loans to drivers younger than 25.

It already has separate agreements with 14 local colleges, universities and residential building owners – including the Arcade Lofts, Westminster Lofts, Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design.

Notes recently given to the Ways and Means Committee members from the Dormody’s office state Zipcar has 156 cars registered in Providence – 70 of which are used in their current fleet for the city. The company paid $109,231 in taxes to the city in 2013.

If approved, Zipcar would be allowed 13 spaces — and the option to add two spaces in the second year of the contract and two additional spaces in year three. The total on-street spots it could have is 17.

The re-negotiated deal would also require Zipcar to purchase on-street overnight parking passes for all the spaces it gets from the city – a total value of up to $1,700, the notes say.

In addition, the pact would require Zipcar to pay an annual fee for each on-street parking spot it has that has a meter on it, or previously had a meter on it. The fee, says the notes, would be based on the current revenue the spot could have received if Zipcar didn’t occupy it – with a maximum fee of $3,750 each.